The Golden Couple

Chap. 6

"He's just been distant," I said, passing my sliders off the girls.

I looked across the pavilion while I sipped on my lemonade. He was laughing with his team, his cheeks a bit red. They must've been making fun of him.

The girls had successfully finished off my mini-sliders by the time the first bell rang, and I was finishing up the last of the hash browns. Kylie picked up the trash and tossed the Chick-Fil-A bag on the way to class.

"Sorry babe," Bryce said, taking my backpack for me. He put his arm around my shoulders. "I didn't think I'd spend the entire morning talking to them."

I stood up on my tip-toes, kissing his cheek. "You're allowed to have friends."

"But I like you more." He stopped in front of my Homeroom, handing me my backpack. "After the game on Friday would you like to go out? The team will be there, but we can pretend like they're not."

"Sounds tempting," I said, sarcastically.

He kissed me as the tardy bell rang. "At least think about it?"

"You know I'll give in, so I might as well just tell you yes now."

He laughed, giving my shoulder a tight squeeze. "I'll see you after Homeroom?"

"I look forward to it."

He waved to my Homeroom teacher before heading off to his class, whistling.

"Is he always late to Homeroom?" Ms. Williams asked me, as I took a seat.

I nodded, rolling my eyes. "He insists on walking me to every class, even if it makes him late to his own."

"Well he hasn't been to my class at all this week."

"He hasn't been to any of his morning classes this week."

"Well he'll surely be surprised by my Pop Quiz today."

"You have a Pop Quiz today?"

"Surprise! Good luck guessing what it's on."

"It couldn't be on what we've been studying for the past week?" I teased.

"No, never!"

The bell rang, signaling the end of Homeroom.

"Better now keep the other half to the Golden Couple waiting."

"We're not the Golden Couple!"

"Not according to the yearbook."

I left Homeroom and ran into something solid. I fell to the floor, wincing as my tailbone collided with the hard, tile floor.

"Sorry Sophie," Kyle said, one of the baseball jocks. He offered a hand down to me.

"No problem," I muttered, dusting myself off. I accepted his hand, pulling myself up.

"You alright?"

"Yeah, I'm good," I said, rubbing my bottom. I peered down the hallway, but Bryce wasn't there.

"If you're looking for lover boy, Coach called him down to his office," Kyle said, before heading off to his next class.

I looked for a couple more seconds before heading to AP Chemistry.

Mr. Munn handed me a test as I walked in the door, informing me that the test would take me all class period.

I sat at the table by myself, again, propping my feet up on Bryce's chair.

About halfway through the class period, Bryce came in, flashing his pass to Mr. Munn.